Back in the Good Ole US of A

We arrived into West Palm Beach after a long day of sailing and crossing the Gulf Stream...but the high rises blocked our Sunset. We put up our "Q" flag (this is a yellow flag you raise on your stern to notify customs and immigration that you have arrived but haven't cleared back into the USA yet). After clearing into Customs the next morning, we set out back into the ocean side to head North. It was a rough day of sailing so the next day we stayed inside the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) and had a much better day of it even if you do have to follow the red and green markers (follow the yellow brick road). We enjoyed the homes, the dolphins, and the sight of other boaters out to enjoy a beautiful day. We are in Telemar Bay Marina now near Melbourne, FL. This is where we will be preparing the boat for the BIG CROSSING that leaves May 16, 2009 (originally planned to leave on May 15th but that is a Friday and sailors have a big superstition about leaving port on Fridays). We will miss our days with our Buddy Boating friends but will keep in touch with them since they are friends for life!!

Final Stop...Port Lucaya

Well, we've come to the end of our trip to the Bahamas by entering Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island. We felt like we had entered Florida. This was nothing like the other Islands we had visited. "Kalik" is the beer of the Bahamas...John enjoyed a few of those. On Sunday, John and I decided to take the Public Bus (little vans that cost $1.25) to Freeport and visit the International Bazaar. We must have forgot what happens in the Bahamas on Sunday...absolutely nothing. The bus driver dropped us off and was "outta there" before we could tell him we wanted to go back. Here we were at a closed market in an obviously depressed area of town. There were actually two stalls open but they had nothing we "needed" but I felt a bit guilty knowing these women weren't going to make any money that day and bought a few sea shells from them. After walking around a closed shopping center for an hour or so we caught the next bus back to Port Lucaya. Closer to the marina was the lighthouse that we walked to. It was actually part of the Westin hotel but we walked down to the beach. Then we enjoyed REAL Greek "Gyros" for lunch. That evening the Space Shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral but it made quite the show for us at the marina. We heard a bit of hootin and hollerin from the 400 students there on Spring Break...yep, time to go.

Another Fish Story

We are on our last legs of our Bahama trip and John and I were discussing things that we wished we had more time for. Johns wish was fishing, mine was snorkeling. Coming from Sandy Point to Port Lucaya is a long day 10 hour day for a sail boat. However, our day became THE DAY for John...yes, he caught the BIG ONE. The fishing pole starts zinging as I grabbed the fishing net. John tells me to put Obie downstairs since we were still sailing along and Obie, being the curious dog he is, wanted in on the action. I put Obie down in the salon and shut the doors, running back to the aft with the fishing net to help John get this fish on board. Trying hard to fit it in the net, we realized it wasn't going to fit so John swings it up on the back deck of the boat. The Mahi Mahi was flapping all over with the hook still in it so I climb up on the arch until John tells me to get the rum. No, he didn't need a drink but the fish did. Rum put in the fish gills instantly kills them so you are not fighting with the fish any longer. I run down looking for the rum, Obie gets back on deck so I have to run back down and lock Obie in the bathroom until things calm down, then he gets to come up for a smell of the fish. So, John's wish came true...now for more snorkeling!!!!

Green Turtle Cay

What a beautiful place this is. A quaint small harbor town. Bouganvilla's blooming everywhere, children coming home from school in their uniforms, riding in golf carts. Green Turtle Cay has a museum and a memorial garden to connect it with its past. Obie and I went beach combing again with Debbie who showed us the way since she had been there a few days before. We came here with Capt. Jim who came to get acquainted with us and the boat as he will be part of the crew in the Atlantic crossing. The sea gives us many photos as well such as this Portugese Man Of War and one of a million starfish sitting right by the boat.

Hope Town Lighthouse

Hope Town in the Abacos ...very beautiful! They say the lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. It was built in 1862 to warn sailors away from the dangerous Elbow Reef. It is one of the few left in the world to house a kerosene light which still flashes every 15 seconds. John climbed to the top but my fear of heights got the best of me that day.

There is also a memorial in town to "Souls Lost At Sea off the Elbow Cay Reef". Always a reminder that the sea can be a dangerous place.

We also visited the Wyannie Malone Historical Museum which was dedicated to a group of American colonists who back in 1785 arrived on Elbow Cay from Charleston, SC as they wished to remain loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution. I have learned so much history by travelling the East Coast of the U.S. and into the Bahamas.

The Barefoot Man in The Abacos

Thanks to my "spinning" teacher, Debbie, in Estes Park, I had become familiar with the songs of "The Barefoot Man". She played us one of his most popular songs "Dirty Belly Button" and we cranked on those bicycle pedals. I had noticed in one of the Island newspapers that he was going to be at Guana Cay in the Abacos on March 6th and 7th. So for the last couple of weeks, our itinerary was based on getting to Guana Cay by March 6th to see The Barefoot Man. And we made it with time to spare! It was an awesome concert and he played all afternoon. Jennifer (from "Lady") and I had got to "Nippers Bar" (where he played) by 9am to save tables because we had been warned about how crowded it got. We got front row seats overlooking the stage and it was AWESOME! Then we moved down to the dance floor and squeezed our way to the front of the stage there. We had gone the night before to buy our food and drink tokens and to enjoy a few drinks overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and walk on the beach a bit...Obie's favorite thing! They were giving out free "Fire In The Hole" rum shots and we all enjoyed a Nippers Juice (consists of rum, rum, rum, rum and juice). What a great day with great friends; Craig, Debbie, Jennifer, and Charlie and a few new ones we met there!

Spanish Wells on Eleuthera

We are hopping across these island groups getting further North every day. Our only stop on Eleuthera was in Spanish Wells at Yacht Haven. We decided to fuel up and then get a dock space for the night...yep, we actually were connected to land for a night. It was early afternoon when we arrived so we decided to join our friends, Craig and Debbie for a golf cart ride around the island. There were many pink, blue, green, and yellow homes that were kept up very nicely...quite the change from what we were used to seeing. We went directly to the grocery store before they closed and really stocked up...it was almost like Safeway at home...but much more expensive. Then we toured the island, stopped in a few gift stores, and found a place for dinner. Craig had turtle...the waitress told us how on April 1st it was going to be illegal to fish for turtle so this was a delicacy soon to be done away with. They don't allow liquor here in Spanish Wells, not even at the restaurants. We had stopped at a "shell shop" that was located in the garage of some very friendly locals. John purchased his "Conch horn" here. That night at dinner we had decided to leave from the North of the Island as we had come in the South side and it would save us over two hours by going North. It is recommended that you hire a "pilot" to show you the way out through the reef system so we called "Ole Pot" who showed up at 7am and took us through all the shallow water and then said "You're On Your Own" but we were already through the reef...no problem man.

The Mangrove Swamps at Shroud Cay

One of our next stops was Shroud Cay. We had heard many good stories about going through the mangrove swamps here, so we just had to try. It was like being in the swamps of Florida. It didn't help that we went at low tide and took the canoe route. We went with our boating buddies, "Charmed" and we had met another Island Packeteer, "Lena B" who joined us. As you can see from the photos, we were hitting bottom so the guys had to get out and pull. Then we got to deeper water and ended at the Atlantic Ocean...Beautiful! What a fun day.

Dead Calm

Per our insurance we had gone as far south as allowed so now we have started heading North. We stopped at Buena Vista Cay and Flamingo Cay again and then headed "the back way" to Rocky Point. This was a couple of small islands in the middle of nowhere and the sea was "DEAD CALM" as you can see from the photo we took of "Charmed" as we headed across. It was a really beautiful day and then we had dinner with Debbie and Craig and watched Nicole Kidman's first movie...Dead Calm. Kind of eerie.

The Ragged Islands...As Close to Cuba as you can get

A typical home in Duncantown, termite nests, drying conch, trail markers (people pick up trash off the beach to mark a trail), the salt pond, DC-3 house ...wouldn't this be fun to live in

We decided to head South from the Exuma Islands to the Ragged Islands. These islands are much more remote with no facilities available to the cruiser so you had better stock up and plan ahead.

First stop was Flamingo Cay. This was another beautiful spot and a good snorkeling place although the current was a bit rough. John had purchased his Hawaiian "sling" and was anxious to try his luck at spear fishing.

Next stop down the chain was Buena Vista. This happened to be on Valentines Day so John and Craig decided to fix the women a Valentines Day dinner with all the fixings. John had caught some fish that he made into Fish Fingers and we had a local fisherman stop by the boat to purchase 8 lobster tails for $20...what a deal. The dinner was delicious and the guys even did dishes! My most vivid memory was of the huge starfish everywhere under the boats so doing your "Bahama Bath" off the back of the boat was a pleasure and the water was refreshing!

Yes, we went all the way South to Duncantown...only 60 miles from Cuba...tempting but not worth the fines the government imposes for trespassers. This town has only about 100 occupants and was another run down town. A little depressing and a culture shock but always fun to mingle with the locals. (Notice the termite nests on the house in the picture). Lots of goats, dogs and roosters running wild...Obie was having a hey day! The local grocery store owner, Maxine, had just come back from Conch fishing and had her conch on the line to dry. There was also a wreck of a small boat that had come from Haiti with 156 persons on board...unbelievable. They had the small school house for all ages but in the Bahamas, once you reach about 14 you must go live in Nassau to finish school if you are lucky and wealthy enough. And someone had made use of an old DC-3...why not?

We had a welcome to Duncantown party with some fellow cruisers, "Charmed", and "It's About Time" who told us about another awesome beach for beach combing. So off we went and after a long, hard dinghy ride, we ended up following them to the trail head. Along the way we had to walk through a Salt Pond...it reminded me of snow in Colorado but a little different texture. It was an awesome beach, found lots of Heart Beans (these are bean pods that float across the ocean usually from Africa), a few Hamburger Beans, and many other shells. We actually found sooooo many beans that we left quite a few for others to find.

What do Swimming Pigs and James Bond have in Common?

The answer is location. First is Big Majors where you dinghy up to the beach and are greeted by a momma pig and her piglets. They are just adorable but they are wild so you stay in the dinghy...but they swim.

OK. Onto James Bond. Yes, just around the corner from the pigs is Thunderball Grotto. This is a cave where you can swim or snorkel into. The James Bond movie Thunderball was filmed here. After a day of snorkeling you can go to Club Thunderball for "Chicken and Ribs" and to enjoy the company of many other yachties or the locals.